On April 6th,
1974, then-King Aonghais and then-Queen Alyson of the
Kingdom of the East, and also Alfgar, Brigantia, signed
the Barony Petition and Charter for the Barony-Marche of
the Debatable Lands. On this, the 36th Anniversary
of that Glorious Day, I present to you this essay, dug out
from the depths of the Files of the Seneschale, by an
anonymous author and at unknown time, looking to be
sometime in the 1980s.(If anyone knows who actually wrote
it or when, let me know, and I will credit it properly.)

A Short Cultural History of theBarony-Marche of the Debatable Lands

By one who saw it all from the
beginning
Transcribed faithfully by Hilda
The area now known as the Debatable Lands was, until
relatively recently, a trackless wilderness. A
seemingly infinite ocean of trees cloaked a bewildering of
mass mountain ridges and verdant valleys. This
uncivilized territory, veined with wild rivers and streams
and teaming with game, was an impenetrable buffer zone
between two frequently hostile kingdoms: the Tyger of the
East and the Dragon of the Middle. Out of this
wilderness were born the great Pennsic Wars and The Barony
Marche of The Debatable Lands.
The first human inhabitants to inhabit the untamed
mountains were the equally untamed Tuchux Tribes. These
were nomadic people who hunted and trapped, scorning fixed
abodes and settled societies. They knew not the
realms and Imperium of "The Knowne World."
Into this Eden sailed the Northmen. Because the
great rivers were the major lines of transportation
through the wilderness, the area fell under the influence
of the small, but unified, groups of Vikings that
dominated the waterways for trading and plundering
forays. These chieftains were the first to establish
fixed communities with a High Seat and social order.
They established a Fylki called the Three Rivers, called
themselves the Thanes of Eriksson, and their chief a Jarl
because... they also knew not the realms of the Known
World. This came about in the year of A.S. 5.
In A.S. 7 the first Pennsic War was fought in this Western
Region between the East Kingdom and the Middle.
Shortly thereafter, several lords and their households
loyal to the throne of the East took up their residence at
the junction of the three rivers. They were unaware
of the presence of other folk and established what would
quickly become the Shire Marche of the Debatable Lands.
The Tuchux remained in their unapproachable mountain
fastnesses while the Vikings, in their rustic halls, felt
the threat of these new and powerful people. Under
their chieftain Leoghnar, now known as Leonard the
Younger, the Vikings clashed Raven standard against Laurel
in indecisive forest skirmishes. Such strife became
futile as more folk of the Eastrealm settled the area and
Pennsic War II established both a shire of the East and
Lord Robert Sieur de la Tor Fraizze. In A.S. 8, at
Pennsic War II, oaths of friendship were exchanged between
the crown's warranted officers and the followers of the
Thanes of Eriksson. The Vikings were now being
referred to as the House of the Black Field, due to the
color of their badge and banner.
By now, the personality and character of the Debatable
Lands had been established. The territory had been
an unclaimed, lawless border land between two warring
kingdoms. Needless to say, like any frontier, the
heavily forrested marches became populated with the
outcasts, misfits, outlaws, oppressed, and general
malcontents that are always the first settlers. The
unification of the border folk was a major and difficult
task which culminated with the Debatable Lands army being
led against the fortifications of the Middle Kingdom by
Black Field and the Tuchux at the Battle of Haybales
Hill. Pennsic War III was the anvil upon which
Robert de la Tor, Leonard the Younger, and Wolf the Mighty
forged the Barony Marche of The Debatable Lands.
A.S. 10 saw the legendary (and, of course, apocryphal)
disappearance of Baron Robert Sieur de la Tor Fraizze and
Court Baron Volf of Novgorod. To replace the missing
Barons the reins of power were taken up by the Triumvirate
Ultramontaine. These were three worthy individuals
chosen by the Althing and an attempt was made to carry on
as before. All to no avail, however, and the area
began to fade back into the wilderness only two shining
years after its establishment as a shire. The Tuchux
faded back into the hills, the Vikings drew aloof (as
usual), and all authority was assumed by Lord Aeleric
Basiliskis; called by some "The Usurper."
A new golden age of activity was ushered in by the
establishing of the "colleges" within the Debatable Lands
and investiture of a new territorial Baron and Baroness,
Leoghnar (Leonard) the Younger and Anna of Kiev in A.S.
XIII. Encouraged by the Chief and Chieftainess of
the Black Field (now Baron and Baroness) the colleges of
the Columns and Cawdor led the way to a new, stronger
Debatable Lands. Although the Barony Marche of the
Debatable Lands is still the actual host of the Pennsic
wars, there is now a marked emphasis on the development of
the arts and sciences as well as military skill.
Since then the Barony has given birth to many shires and
cantons that exist independently as handfast friends an
neighbors. Besides the still extant and supremely
active College of Cawdor, there are the shires of
Janiewiem, Citte del Mughetto, Incipient of Broken
Bridges, and Nem-Ra-Noq (originally a tribe of settled
Tuchux). The Barony Marche of The Debatable Lands
has had a long, colorful history filled with many colorful
folke and it looks forward to an even more brilliant
future.Maintained by the BMDL Web
Minister. Last revised: Sunday, 10 April 2011